As many project managers and also non-project managers we are often flooded with lots of e-mails during the day and go through the following process: you tend to read e-mail, flag them if something needed to be done, come back to them, and generally have an overfilled inbox. This sure makes your e-mail to-do list look overwhelming. One way to help organize your e-mails is to create some e-mail inbox folders like:
- Do – Immediate Action
- Defer – Time Permitting
- Delegate – Send to whomever is being assigned to cover those e-mails
- Read – Informational e-mails, like newsletters
- Archive – Place on your network drive for backup
You can also break down the folders into to sub-folders for each of your several projects or start with the project name and have these five categories as sub-folders. The key thing is you are not multitasking and you still devote a chuck of time to address particular actions items, which makes you more efficient and ensures the most important tasks get addressed first.
ashleycray
April 18, 2011 at 8:45 pm
I love this post!! I think we waste so much time emailing that email organization is incredibly important to save as much time as possible.
Great post miss Lisa!
Lisa Drake
April 18, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I totally agree with you Ashley! I have been using some a lot of different e-mail tips and I feel it is sure making e-mails not so overwhelming and time consuming. Thanks for your comment!
ambersteenblock
April 18, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Lisa, Good post. More often than not I’m sitting there trying to organize my emails. It can be so annoying at times. I feel like I waste so much time doing this and yet it is a neccesity if you are going to have an email account. Thanks for the tips!
Lisa Drake
April 18, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Thank you Amber for your insightful comment. I agree with you e-mail organization is challenging, but so important this day and age.